Chengannur railway station is an 'NSG 3 category' station located at

Chengannur Chengannur (also spelled Chengannoor or Chenganur) is a Municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala State, India. It is located in the extreme eastern part of the Alappuzha district, on the banks of Pamba River. Chengannur is north o ...

in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

. It is one of the busiest stations in the –––

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation ...

route, primarily due to the Sabarimala pilgrims. The station is managed by Southern Railway under the

Thiruvananthapuram railway division Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division (TVC) is one of the six administrative divisions of the Southern Railway, Indian Railways. It has its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala, India. Thiruvananthapuram D ...

. Chengannur railway station mainly serves the people of

Alappuzha Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in state of Kerala, India. The Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India which attracts millions of domestic and internat ...

and Pathanamthitta district.

History

Chengannur rail link came into existence in 1958 when

– metre-gauge railway line was extended to . The railway line between and via Kottayam was converted to broad gauge in 1976.

Significance

Chengannur railway station is the nearest rail station to reach famous pilgrimage places like

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest ...

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipal town in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is considered a holy town due to its connection with Lord Ayyappa and Sabarimala. Rightly recognised to be the ''educational and cultural capital of Central Tra ...

Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple The Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is a Hindu temple located near Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, South India. It is dedicated to the God Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, who is worshipped as Parthasarathy (Arjuna's chario ...

, Parumala Church ,

Maramon Maramon is a small town on the Pampa River, in Thiruvalla Sub-District & Taluk opposite to Kozhencherry in the state of Kerala, India. It is 16 km from the Thiruvalla Town headquarters, the town of Thiruvalla. Maramon Convention ...

and Manjinikkara Church .It is also the nearest railway station of 4 of the 5 Pancha Pandava Temples and Pandavanpara. The railway station has been declared as 'Gateway of Sabarimala' by

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

in 2009. It serves the people of 4 districts -

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The ci ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality situated in the Central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 3 ...

and

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...

. The proposed Sabari Airport Cheruvally ,Erumeli is 37 kms away from the station.

Facilities

Cloak room IRCTC restaurant Wi-Fi connectivity Computerized Reservation counter Information counter Foot over bridge (2 no's) Subway Escalator Lift (at platform no: 1) 2nd class waiting room at Platform no: 1 Shelters for Sabarimala pilgrims Prepaid auto – taxi counter prepaid vehicle parking area 24 hrs. KSRTC bus to Pamba during Sabarimala Pilgrim Season and also at 1st & last day of every Malayalam month

Future expansion plans

A new line linking Chengannur with via

Kottarakkara Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara), also transliterated as ''Kottarakara'', is a town and municipality in the Kollam district of the Kerala, India. The town is close to Kollam Port, which has a rich history linked to the early medieval per ...

Kilimanoor and

Nedumangad Nedumangad is a town and municipality in Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area of Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala, and is the headquarters of Nedumangad tehsil and Nedumangad Revenue Division (RDO). It is a sub ...

is awaiting approval from the Planning Commission. Another line to Pampa via

has also been proposed. After the new line materializes, there would be stations at

,Malayalam Manorama Issue-918 date:21-09-2016 A sub-urban service connecting Chengannur to Trivandrum is under consideration.

References

Thiruvananthapuram railway division Railway stations in Alappuzha district Railway stations opened in 1958 {{Kerala-railstation-stub

History

Significance

Facilities

Future expansion plans

See also

References